Synopses & Reviews
The Cage-Busting Teacher applies the logic of
Cage-Busting Leadership to the unique challenges and opportunities of classroom teachers. Detailed, accessible, and thoroughly engaging, it uncovers the many ways teachers can break out of familiar constraints to influence classroom practice, education policy, and school reform.
“In The Cage-Busting Teacher, Rick Hess has found a way to say what has, up to this point, existed only in the minds of teacher leaders. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to strengthen our schools in ways that are practical and real.” — Alex Kajitani, California Teacher of the Year 2009
“Finally someone (besides me) is talking about the power and authority of teachers! As educators, we have to reject the suggestion that ‘You can’t do that.’ Push back, come up with your own ideas, and 96.4 percent of the time, you’ll find that you can do important things to improve schools. Such are the cage-busters.” — Lily Eskelsen García, president, National Education Association
“Hess’s work will empower teachers to collaborate successfully with their principals, parents, colleagues, and policy makers and continue to have an impact on their students and communities year after year.” — Elisa Villaneuva Beard, co-CEO, Teach For America
“The Cage-Busting Teacher is an indispensable playbook for every teacher who wants to figure out how to influence decisions that get made beyond their classroom walls. With an engaging mix of stories of successfully subversive teachers and facts about how policy works, Rick shows teachers that they have more power than they realize.” — Celine Coggins, CEO, Teach Plus
“The message of this important book by Rick Hess is clear: There’s a lot of talent among the teachers in our schools, and it needs to be unlocked and set free.” — Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers
FREDERICK M. HESS is a resident scholar and director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
The Cage-Busting Teacher is a volume in the Educational Innovations series.
Review
“In The Cage-Busting Teacher, Rick Hess has found a way to say what has, up to this point, existed only in the minds of teacher leaders. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to strengthen our schools in ways that are practical and real.” — Alex Kajitani, California Teacher of the Year 2009
Review
“Finally someone (besides me) is talking about the power and authority of teachers! As educators, we have to reject the suggestion that ‘You can’t do that.’ Push back, come up with your own ideas, and 96.4 percent of the time, you’ll find that you can do important things to improve schools. Such are the cage-busters.” — Lily Eskelsen García, president, National Education Association
Review
“Hess’s work will empower teachers to collaborate successfully with their principals, parents, colleagues, and policy makers and continue to have an impact on their students and communities year after year.” — Elisa Villaneuva Beard, co-CEO, Teach For America
Review
“The Cage-Busting Teacher is an indispensable playbook for every teacher who wants to figure out how to influence decisions that get made beyond their classroom walls. With an engaging mix of stories of successfully subversive teachers and facts about how policy works, Rick shows teachers that they have more power than they realize.” — Celine Coggins, CEO, Teach Plus
Review
“The message of this important book by Rick Hess is clear: There’s a lot of talent among the teachers in our schools, and it needs to be unlocked and set free.” — Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers
Review
“This book needed to be written. We can see internationally how a desire to improve education has led to fruits and weeds in equal measure. The key voice that has been forgotten in all this has been the notso-humble educator. I can’t agree with Hess enough: we need to stop waiting for Superman to come and fix everything, and start thinking about how we can fix things from the bottom up and inside out. Maybe then we can call ourselves a profession again.” —Tom Bennett, Times Education Supplement
Synopsis
The Cage-Busting Teacher adopts the logic of Cage-Busting Leadership and applies it to the challenges and opportunities of classroom teachers. Based on hundreds of interviews, it recommends concrete solutions and ways to put them in place.
Synopsis
The Cage-Busting Teacher adopts the logic of Cage-Busting Leadership and applies it to the unique challenges and opportunities of classroom teachers. Detailed, accessible, and thoroughly engaging, it uncovers the many ways in which teachers can break out of familiar constraints in order to influence school and classroom practice, education policy, and school reform. “Cage-busting is concrete, precise, andpractical,” writes Frederick M. Hess. This invaluable book helps teachers understand why and how to revisit their assumptions and enables them to have greater impacts upon their schools and beyond. Based on interviews with hundreds of teachers, teacher advocates, union leaders, and others, Hess identifies the challenges teachers face, seeks concrete and workable solutions, and offers recommendations to put those solutions in place. A uniquely practical and inspiring book, The Cage-Busting Teacher is for educators who want to shape the schools and systems in which they work.
About the Author
Frederick M. Hess is a resident scholar and director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of Cage-Busting Leadership (Harvard Education Press, 2013).
Table of Contents
CONTENTS Preface xiii
The Classroom Cage 1
Choose to Be a Problem Solver 35
Managing Up 59
Millions of Registered Voters—and Their Kids 87
Tackling Everyday Problems 111
The Union Question 139
Square Pegs and Round Holes 167
You Are Braver Than You Believe 191
APPENDIX A
Cage-Busting for Beginners 215
APPENDIX B
Glossary of Terms 237
APPENDIX C
Teacher Voice Organizations 241
APPENDIX D
Fellowships and Leadership Opportunities 247
APPENDIX E
Resources for Rethinking the Profession 253
APPENDIX F
AFT and NEA Initiatives 257
APPENDIX G
Questions for Further Thought and Exploration 261
Notes 273
Acknowledgments 283
About the Author 285
Index 287